A multimillionaire Tory donor is the favourite choice to become the new chairman of Ofsted, it was reported today.

David Ross, who co-founded Carphone Warehouse, has been named as the frontrunner for the role, the Independent said.

Any decision to appoint him would be a controversial one as, in addition to having donated thousands of pounds to the Conservative Party, Mr Ross has his own charitable foundation which supports more than 20 academies.

Questions were today being asked about what would happen should Ofsted inspectors be sent into his own schools.

The David Ross Education Trust website states that it is committed to ensuring each academy is graded "outstanding" by the education watchdog within five years of joining.

In 2008 Mr Ross resigned from Carphone Warehouse after becoming embroiled in a share-selling scandal.

He was also forced to step down from his position on the board of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) and as chairman of the Legacy Board of Advisers along with other roles after it emerged he failed to declare the use of £120 million of shares as backing against personal loans.

The Ofsted role became vacant after Education Secretary Michael Gove's decided not to retain Labour peer Baroness Morgan as chair earlier this year.

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